Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) President Kim Woong-seo announced that, on Wednesday, November 3, KIOST held the launch ceremony for the Jangyeongsil, a ship designed to test and evaluate marine equipment and robots, at Yeongil New Port in Pohang. Kim said that the vessel, which is capable of conducting performance tests and evaluations of equipment in all waters¹⁾ of Korea, will be operated at sea to produce and disseminate R&D results in the fields of marine equipment and robotics.

1) Maximum depths of Korea's waters: 3,000m in the East Sea, 100m in the West Sea, and 200m in the South Sea

A special vessel²⁾ is required to conduct at-sea performance testing and evaluation of the various types of marine equipment and robots³⁾ developed through the R&D activities of KIOST. Until now, expensive foreign ships were rented and used to test such equipment, leading to problems of excessive costs, strict contractual conditions, and time restrictions.

2)  These special ships are equipped with underwater launch and retrieval equipment (A-Frame) and a dynamic positioning system (DP system) for ships, among others.
3) Marine equipment and robots have been developed in Korea since the 1980s, and these types of equipment include various marine robots (Haemirae, MineRo, and Crabster) and underwater construction robots.

Since 2018, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and KIOST have conducted a project called “Development of testing and evaluation vessels and systems to verify the performance of marine equipment at sea” to promote the commercialization of marine equipment and robots and create a sustainable ecosystem for the new marine industry.
The Jangyeongsil, which weighs 2,954 tons and is 75 meters long, is equipped with a lifting device (A-Frame) that can lift equipment weighing up to 60 tons and dynamic positioning equipment that can maintain the position of the vessel even in waves of up to 2.5 meters. With this special equipment, the ship can freely launch and retrieve heavy marine equipment at sea and ensure its safety and the safety of any equipment operating underwater even in poor weather conditions. Thanks to the Jangyeongsil, most of the marine equipment and robots currently being developed in Korea can be tested and evaluated in all domestic waters.
To increase the on-site use of the Jangyeongsil, the requirements of private companies, including underwater construction robot operators, were reflected as much as possible in the entire production process of the vessel, including planning, remodeling, design, manufacturing, and test operation. xss-objective testing and evaluation procedures and operation systems for each type of marine equipment and robots will be prepared sequentially. As a result, an import substitution effect of more than KRW 11.2 billion⁴⁾ per year is expected to be generated in the fields of marine robots, marine energy including offshore wind power, and marine equipment, which is expected to be in demand in the future.

4) This was calculated based on the overseas ship rental fee, which is KRW 80 million per day, and 140 rental days (estimated) per year

KIOST President Kim Woong-seo said, “With the launch of the Jangyeongsil, it is now possible to go out to sea at any time to accumulate track records and conduct the reliability verification necessary for the commercialization of marine equipment and robots.”
He went on to add, “Now that we have secured a dedicated mothership, we will do our best to contribute to the creation of a new marine industry by improving the performance of our equipment and promoting early commercialization.”